Sandra Bullock attends the Warner Bros. presentation of its upcoming slate during CinemaCon inside the Dolby Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for CinemaCon) When Sandra Bullock‘s longtime partner, Bryan Randall, passed away at age 57 in 2023, the news came as a shock to friends, colleagues and Bullock’s fans as the photographer never disclosed a diagnosis or revealed that he was battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.
At the time of his passing, Randall’s “loving family” released a statement and said that he “chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those who cared for him did our best to honor his request.” Three years later, Bullock is opening up for the first time about the challenges she faced in keeping the battle private in the face of what she called “a traumatic diagnosis.”
Related Stories
TV Jason Bateman Says 'Uncut Gems' Was "A Good Shorthand" for 'Black Rabbit'
Music Nicole Kidman Grooves With Troye Sivan in Glam "She's the Best" Music Video
“I wasn’t allowed to speak about it. That was the request,” Bullock shared during a new episode of SiriusXM’s SmartLess podcast (available early to subscribers), hosted by her good friend Jason Bateman and co-hosts Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. (Bullock’s inner circle includes Bateman, his wife Amanda Anka and Jennifer Aniston.) “He asked me not to share. I know why he asked me not to.”
Bullock added that she wasn’t “allowed to tell anybody” including Bateman’s wife Anka. “My sister was the only one who knew for a while,” she added of close sibling Gesine Bullock-Prado. “At first I go, ‘Oh, I can handle that. I can be quiet.'”
With a life in the public eye, the Oscar winner said she’s always cautious of how her fame or career can impact those in her life. “I don’t wanna harm others because of what I do, so I think not talking for a while was good,” she added.
But the secrecy took a toll as Bullock took on the burden of coordinating Randall’s care and seeking out trial drugs and therapies, among other hurdles. Shouldering that amid the COVID-19 pandemic while raising two young children led the actress to facing “a trifecta that was pretty dark,” she said.
Looking for solace, Bullock revealed that she did eventually turn to Anka and Aniston to reveal the truth. It’s unclear at what point she did that, but the actress and producer, who next stars opposite Nicole Kidman in the Practical Magic sequel, said the final years of his battle were tough as the grieving process started before he passed.
“Where he was in his journey, both physically and mentally, I started grieving Brian four years before he passed. There was something that had shifted,” she said. “My person left a lot earlier than the body left. I don’t think I ever dealt with that until after he passed, because you’re just on this treadmill.”
Her statements echo what many families and caregivers share about the disease. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurological disease that is always fatal. It causes nerve cells to gradually break down and die, and eventually all muscles are affected, leading to full paralysis while the mind still is active. Life expectancy depends on the type of ALS one is diagnosed with, however, the average is between to two to five years.
Bullock honored Randall’s request while she also took a step back from acting and Hollywood producing. During an interview on CBS Sunday Morning that aired in 2022, she said she was backing away from work for a bit. “I can be creative, I can be part of a community, but right now, work in front of the camera needs to take a pause,” she said while promoting Lost City. “I want to be at home. I’m not doing anyone any favors who’s investing in a project if I’m saying, ‘I just want to be at home.’ … Because I was always running, I was always running to the next thing. I just want to be present and responsible for one thing.”
The full SmartLess episode can be heard here.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe Sign Up
